the16bitgamer

joined 1 year ago
[–] the16bitgamer 11 points 1 year ago

I made a video going over my own experience. But I feel the biggest tip is to understand the difference between the OS and the Desktop Environment, since in Linux these are separate.

In Windows I found myself identifying the OS based on how the start menu looks and how the file explorer is.

But in Linux these are separate and are called Desktop Environmenta (DE). Your desktop can look like Windows with DE's like KDE Plasma, Cinnamon, or Mate. It can be Mac like with KDE Plasma, or Gnome. Or it can be unique like Gnome.

If you noticed I repeated a few names, that's because they can be customized, and some distributions make them look and feel the way they want them too.

Meanwhile the distro is more focused on what applications are pre-installed and what software will run and are available. I.e. Debain is more stable while arch is more up-to-date.

There are many guides going over this, but distro hopping is the best for narrowing this down. I found finding applications that need to work and seeing if the distro can do it, can weed out any distro that won't work for you. If you don't like the feel of a distro but like the functionally, then look for a similar distro but with a new GUI.

For example Ubuntu ships with a mostly unmodified Gnome. I personally am not a fan of Gnome and prefer a more Windows-like feel. So I look around and find Zorin, Kubuntu, and Mint.

Word of the wise though, while you can install more than one de on install, you are better off either making a new profile or not swapping your de. Something something shared resources, something something breaking your install.

[–] the16bitgamer 1 points 1 year ago

The Spyro Trilogy. All 3 games are brilliant and technological standouts for the era and has held up very well over the years.

But if we are going weird. Harry Potter 1 + 2 for GBC or PlayStation. They aren't good games, they are watered down clones of Pokemon and 3d Zelda respectively. But the theming and genera is such a perfect fit that I love them to this day. Plus the Jeremy Soule soundtrack is fantastic.

[–] the16bitgamer 4 points 1 year ago

Yup. We use to have Netflix and another service depending on what was coming out I.e. Disney plus when Mandi was releasing.

Now we just do the other service,

Please ignore the iPad usb c dock with the hdmi splitter connected to it.

[–] the16bitgamer 4 points 1 year ago

Many reasons. Many of which is down to how Google as a company is reaching between the proverbial couch cushions to get at the loose change to make a profit. Default opt-in tracking, breaking ad-blockers, and probably more which I forgot about since I abandoned Chrome years ago.

[–] the16bitgamer 3 points 1 year ago

I've tried Linux on my Surface Go. It was awful but not in the way you'd think it would be.

Pros: Honestly Linux made the anemic processor on it feel snappy again. I couldn't play the newest games, linux is not a miracle worker. But compared to the bloated experience its better than Windows 10.

Cons: The smallest features didn't work. SD reader never worked. Needed the Surface firmware to get the webcam to work and even then it was worse than it was on Windows. No good on screen keyboard software, and from my testing no DE had a good tablet mode.

Plus the giant red "unsecured" bar on boot was an eye sore.

I know Linux is has more compatibility on different Surface models so maybe it was just my Go. Or perhaps it was Manjaro. Either way if you don't have a machine yet maybe look at other laptop/tablets

[–] the16bitgamer 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Hey my old monitor setup isn't here.

Main display is normal with a laptop underneath, a vertical display to the left with a laptop display on the bottom under the first monitor

[–] the16bitgamer 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I do not consider a Mac for a gaming machine since it’s library is extremely limited compared to a pc.

With that said, a steam dec+Mac would be a good combo.

[–] the16bitgamer 1 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Depends on use case. As others have suggested please ensure that she is in the discussions.

M powered macs are both a blessing and a curse. They are fast, battery efficient, and have the ports you need with the Pro.

But they force you to be stuck with the storage amount you leave the store with, no ability to upgrade, and a reduced software library thanks to the removal of x86 code. If she plays games on her machine, she's going to have a bad time.

Meanwhile, Windows machines haven't changed much since 2015. Yes they can still do everything that they could, so software isn't an issue and games play better than they ever did. But the cost is the amount of extra research you need to do to ensure you are getting a good machine.

My current windows laptop looked good on paper, but the battery life turned out to be worse than I expected and the speakers are so quiet I can't hear them.

With that said. If you have the budget, the Macbook is the better work machine in my view. Especially if your are just typing. We are leveling out on storage and RAM requirements, so long as you get more than 256GB of storage (1TB recommended 512GB min) and at least 8GB of RAM anything you get will feel snappy and quick.

However if she intends to use it for more, I.e. games, video editing, photo shop, connecting other devices to it like a Garmin. Then you should ensure that whatever you get can do it. (Web browsing doesn't count any more)

You can't just fallback on Linux just yet, as there is only a few distros for it and software is still limited.

[–] the16bitgamer 36 points 1 year ago (4 children)

I miss Pebble. ePaper Display, week long battery life, and I can see all my phones notifications and reply to texts on the watch itself.

Made my old phone with bad battery life usable.

Garmin is the only "smart watch"/fitness tracker that does this and does it well. Wish it wasn't as pricy for the week long battery devices.

[–] the16bitgamer 10 points 1 year ago

I agree with you. But with how fractured the software and hardware space has become. Building native is expensive and time consuming.

For example a web browser is compatible with x86 amd64 armv7 aarch64 on any OS from Windows, Linux, Mac OS, iPad/iOS, and Android.

Which means that if I make 1 web page, I can support all these platforms at once.

The customer doesn't care, they just want funny cat pics.

Building native requires both the hardware (especially if you need to build for the walled garden known as iOS), and frameworks. Where its just easier to recompile chrome, and bake in a Web Page, I.e. react native

[–] the16bitgamer 18 points 1 year ago

Now if you are melting your 3d prints, make sure you flip it every 2.5 hours to get an even coating.

PXL_20230908_165206470

view more: ‹ prev next ›